Returning: Back to You
by Zenkx
Summary: Part 2 of a couple of prequels for my fanfic, Returning. She wants to rest, but they won't let her. Why? [Rated M due to graphic descriptions and adult language]
1. Chapter 1

**Arghhh… the Shakarian obsession has seized control of my brain.**

**Some characters are the property of BioWare. **

_I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…_

It was my litany. My apology. For every single being I am killing for doing this.

My bullets hit the metal of the Crucible, every time the sound of metal hitting metal rang to my ears.

_I'm sorry…_

Their faces flash before my eyes… Joker and his little smirk… Anderson with his proud gaze…

Garrus… and his loving stare as he holds his rifle…

_I'm sorry…_

Poor Joker. Poor EDI. Poor quarians. Poor Geth.

Nobody could ever forgive me for doing this.

Even I don't know if what I'm doing is wrong or right. But I know that it has to stop.

I said I was going to destroy the Reapers. And that's what I'm doing.

_I'm sorry…_

My last bullet hit the Crucible, and it exploded, knocking me off my feet. Fire and metal flies off around me. I scream in pain as fire consumed half of the left side of my face. I fell to the ground, and rolled. The Crucible started emitting a red light… and I knew that it was done.

_I'm sorry…_

I guess I'm never going to see everyone.

_I'm sorry…_

No… no. I'm not going to let it end this way. There has to be a way.

I ran away from the explosion, despite my injuries. I have to get down. Down the corridor. There were dead soldiers there, taken in by the Conduit. Maybe I can get something there.

_I'm sorry…_

I have to get back. I have to get back to everyone.

I want to live a life in peace. I want the battles to stop. I don't want to be Commander Shepard anymore.

I just want to be Jane.

Jane Shepard-Vakarian.

The lift that brought me up finally brought me back down to the hallway I passed. Anderson's body was still there. So was the body of the Illusive Man. Fucking Illusive Man. Rot in hell, you bastard.

Anderson is gone. I am so proud of him. He was like a father to me. I wish I could bury him, but there's no time.

Another explosion rocked the Crucible. There's no time. Have to hurry.

I see a corpse of an Alliance soldier among the pile of carcasses. I wrenched his mask away, but is whole head came with it, snapping off from the neck of his body. I pulled the head away from the mask. It smelled of burned flesh and death. But at least I was still breathing properly.

I could feel the Crucible rocking around me. Crashing. Churning metal and concrete.

I have to hide.

A heavy metal beam seemed to support the structure. I limp over to it and cling on to it. I just hope the beam is strong enough to support everything around me.

I want to live. I have to live. I need to live.

Please, let me live.

_I'm sorry…_

Garrus… Garrus… I want to come back to you. I don't want to wait in that bar without you. I want to be with you.

God, please… let me be with him.

A red light started enveloping the whole Crucible as it shivered, quaking. I could feel the vibrations of the structure from the metal I was clinging on to.

Then suddenly, a flash of red. I look up to see that the Citadel had released some sort of energy to the vastness of space… probably heading to the Mass Relays. They are going to spread, from one system to the next, bringing death to the Reapers. And to the synthetics.

_I'm sorry…_

EDI… Legion… I am so sorry… this is the only way I can end it. Or at least what I think can end it.

What I think…

That's right. *I* made this choice. I picked to destroy the Reapers, and the synthetics. I killed the geth. I killed EDI.

Joker…

_I'm sorry…_

He would never forgive me.

Fire enveloped the Citadel, explosions happening everywhere, I lower to the floor while still clinging to the support beam that is now my life line. The Citadel groaned again, and I could feel the Earth's gravity starting to pull it in, slowly at first… and gradually picking up speed.

I'm crashing.

Will I survive?

I don't know. I don't know anymore.

But I want to live. I don't know if what I'm doing is enough to keep me alive.

I want to live. I want to live.

Garrus…

_I'm sorry…_

I want to live with you. I don't care if we don't get any turian-human babies. I just want to live with you. To love you. To sit on the beach somewhere tropical as we sip drinks. We're getting too old for this. I want to retire. I want to disappear with you.

_I'm sorry…_

I wish you were here with me. I wish you could hold me. Even with your armor, I know that the heat of your body is enough for me. Even underneath all that hard plating, I know that inside, you were a softie. You worried about me. You loved me. You stood by my side when nobody did. Even Kaidan… who called me a traitor a few months ago. You were there for me…

Garrus…

There was a crash, a gigantic bump… and the floors above me collapsed.

_I'm sorry…_

Looks I'm going up to that bar in heaven by myself…


	2. Chapter 2

"Ano yun? (What was that?)"

A black-haired woman looked up at the sky, seeing a giant piece of metal fall into the rainforest beyond. Fire and dust and debris flew in all directions as it made contact with the earth, and she gasped. The structure was way too familiar to her. She had worked there for most of her life, before coming back to her family to save them and take care of them during the Reaper War.

"Yung Citadel! (It is the Citadel!)" She cried, as she ran into the forest, "Baka may mga tao sa loob! (There could be people in there!)"

"Andreia, baka delikado (it's too dangerous!)" Cried an elderly woman from behind her, running a little despite her injured leg.

"Ayos lang ako! (I will be fine!)" the black-haired woman, Andreia, shouted behind her as she disappeared behind the trees. "Tawagin mo si Antonio, kailangan ko ng tulong niya! (Call Antonio, tell him I might need some help!)"

"Sige, tatawagin ko siya. (Yes, I'll call him)" Andreia's mother said as she sprinted, the foliage of the forest, holding thousands of pieces of debris from the Citadel. She continued to run until a huge metal wall seemed to block her, but she pulled herself up and climbed all the way up. Her breath got caught in her lungs as seared metal and debris greeted her.

"Diyos ko po(Oh my God)" She said as she gingerly stepped down the wreckage, "Walang makakaligtas dito. (No one could survive this.)"

She was right. As she did her inspection of wreckage, she found several bodies. But it seemed to her that they had been dead before the impact. The scent of burning flesh greeted her nostrils, and she covered her nose with her sleeve.

She stopped as she stepped down one of what seemed to be one of the support beams of the Citadel, seeing an armored chest among the rubble. The lower part of the torso was covered in debris, and a wrecked helmet covered its head, its arms spread around him. She kneeled down and looked at the armor, and saw blood trickling down on it. She bent closer to see a logo on the armor.

An N7 logo.

Suddenly, the chest heaved, a faint inhale. And Andreia blinked.

"May buhay dito! (There's a live one here!)" She said, and she scrambled closer to the body, and started lifting some of the smaller debris away. The figure was breathing, or rather gasping, as she tried to clear his lower torso. Some of the blocks were heavy but she was able to remove some of them.

"Oh, Diyos… (Oh, God)", Andreia murmured as she finally got a closer look at the person's legs. His left leg was broken, it's femur sticking out like a stuck branch out of his thigh, while his right leg was shattered, his knee and ankle was at an awkward angle, and blood was seeping off his armor.

"Hindi ko siya magagalaw ng ganito. ( I can't move him like this.)" She muttered as she looked around. She found what looked like a sheet of metal and brought it over the body. From behind her, she heard several footsteps, and she looked over to see some of the locals, bringing supplies. She sighed in relief when she saw two of them holding a stretcher.

One of them, wearing a cap, came forward, his dark brown skin glistening with sweat. Antonio Quiroga was one of her most trusted men, a local who had also worked with her during her time as a Medic in the Citadel. Andreia had trained him to be an efficient assistant to her, and she specifically asked for him to be her assistant when she had transferred her medical clinic to the Citadel. He returned to their village with her, as he was worried about his family as well when the Reaper War broke out.

"Andreia, is he stable?" Antonio asked as he bent over with her with the body, and he handed her several packets of MediGel.

"I don't know yet." Andreia said, and she applied the medicine to the human's less serious injuries. "I have to take him to the clinic to stabilize him. Both of his legs are broken."

"Alright." Antonio nodded and mentioned to the villagers, "Dito! Buhatin nyo ito. Dalhin ninyo sa klinika. (Here! Lift this one. Bring it to the clinic.)" Some of the men came and gingerly lifted the body onto an awaiting stretcher, and they climbed out of the debris carefully.

Antonio nodded to the others, "Tignan ninyo kung may makikita pa kayong buhay. (See if you can find any other live ones)" The villagers nodded and started looking around the debris, and Antonio and Andreia followed the human in the stretcher out of the wreckage.

"I'll go ahead and prepare your table." Antonio said as they sprinted towards the clinic, being careful not to jolt the body, "You might need to a little surgery on him."

Andreia nodded, and Antonio ran ahead of them to her clinic. She looked down at the body and looked at the N7 logo, touching it gingerly. A dog tag was hanging by his chest, and she carefully turned it over.

Shepard, Jane D.

5923AC2826 SAN7, A Positive

No preference

Spectre Status

She blinked as she looked at the dog tags again. Her heart pulsed a painful beat, and she urged the villagers faster. She looked up to see Antonio already peeking from her clinic. She waved her arms.

"ANTONIO! IT'S COMMANDER SHEPARD! WE HAVE TO SAVE HER!"


	3. Chapter 3

It's dark. I can't see a thing. I can't feel anything.

_Siha._

Thane? Is that you…? Where am I?

_Skipper…_

Ashley… oh God I am so sorry…

_Shepard. It's alright._

Mordin. You were so brave…

_Shepard-Commander._

Legion. I'm so sorry.

_Hello, Shepard._

EDI… oh my God…

_You did good, child. I am so proud of you._

Anderson…

I could see them, despite the darkness. My drell assassin, Thane Krios. My gunnery chief in the SR1, Ashley Williams. My scientist salarian, Mordin Solus. My geth ally, Legion. The Normandy AI, EDI. My friend, David Anderson.

The people I've lost…

_Siha, you fought so hard. Arashu's wrath has nothing on you._

Yes, I fought hard, Thane. And I'm tired. I just want to stop fighting. I want to rest.

_Sorry, Skipper. You can't rest yet. You still have some things to do._

I don't. I destroyed the Reapers. I saved the galaxy. Please, just let me rest.

_Sorry, Shepard. Normandy crew still waiting for you. Return expected. Also, repercussions of a certain turian on your death would be… problematic._

Garrus is waiting for me, Mordin?

_Shepard-Commander. Normandy crew all waiting for your return._

But Legion…

_Officer Vakarian is waiting, Commander._

But EDI… I don't know…

_He's waiting for you, Shepard. I saw him fighting. He's fighting so that you could still be with him._

He's waiting… for me?

_Your time is not right yet, Siha. You do not deserve to be with us yet._

Then what am I supposed to do?

_Heh… you're supposed to live, Skipper! Jeeze, isn't it obvious?!_

_Vakarian, very good mate, Shepard. Although dextro and levo interactions must be limited. Suggest retire somewhere sunny and collect seashells instead of attempting procreation._

Aha… hahaha! Well, he did say something about retiring somewhere warm and tropical when this is over.

_Shepard-Commander. Officer-Vakarian will tire of waiting if you do not return soon._

I have to get back to him.

_Yes, Shepard. I believe Officer Vakarian is patiently waiting, due to certain promises of children on your behalf._

Yes… the turian-human babies. I remember now.

_Live, Shepard. Go back and be with him and your friends. You will rest soon, but not like this. Not here. Stay alive, Shepard. That's an order._

Alright. I mean… yes, Admiral Anderson.

_Do not forget about us, Siha. We will always be looking after you across the sea._

_Don't worry, Skipper. We'll meet again… in another time._

_Not yet your time, Shepard. But we will be here. Studying afterlife._

_Shepard-Commander. We will remain in location until your return._

_Yes, Shepard. We will be here._

_Go, child. Be with everyone, and when the time comes… we'll be here._

Okay… okay. I'll… see you when I have to. I'll be coming back here… when it's my time…


	4. Chapter 4

"OH CRAP! SHE'S CODING!"

Andreia stopped from stitching the wound on Shepard's abdomen, watching the machines around her beep incessantly in warning, "What's going on?!"

Antonio shook his head, "I don't know! I was just sewing this wound on her shoulder!"

"Damn it!" Andreia took her stethoscope and listened for Shepard's lungs. "She's got hemothorax, she can't breathe. Somebody get me a 12 gauge syringe!"

Somebody gave her the needle, and Antonio watched as Andreia pushed the syringe into a certain point in Shepard's skin under her chest, and blood immediately started coming out. A nurse came forward and helped her. Andreia sighed in relief as her life signs returned to normal.

"Keep scanning her, make sure the blood in her lungs clear up before you gauze this." Andreia said, she looked up at a technician near Shepard's head, "Any damages?"

"Just some concussions, and a bad hit at the back of the neck." The lab technician said, scanning Shepard's head, "The helmet helped her out a lot. No cranial damage, brain bleeds or broken neck bones."

"Some damages on this arms and hands, Andreia." Antonio said, "Left shoulder dislocated, right arm with a hairline fracture, sprained wrists, gun shot wound to the left arm as well."

Andreia nodded, "Alright, do we have any doctor for her legs?"

"Sorry, Andreia, but no." A nurse said, "You would have to contact someone you know, or go through Aliiance channels to be able to find one."

"Damn it…" Andreia whispered as she kept sewing Shepard's stomach wound. "Alright, here's what we're going to do. I do NOT want anyone here in this clinic to tell people we have Shepard, understood? NOBODY outside this village must know. She's the savior of the galaxy, I know, but right now she's a patient, and we need to save her. I don't care if the Alliance throws us in jail, we WILL heal her, and let her REST. I want everyone focused on her important organs first. Double check the head and the torso, see if there's any other bleeding we need to see. I do not want her coding again, you all understand?!"

"Yes ma'am!" All the people in the clinic said, and Antonio nodded at Andreia. She nodded back at him, before looking at Shepard's bruised and bleeding face, before turning back to fixing her abdomen.

"Come on, Shepard… fight." She whispered as she pierced the skin of the Spectre with her sewing needle. "I won't allow you to end this way. Fight, for the love of God."


	5. Chapter 5

Fire.

No. Not fire.

Ice?

It's too cold, it's freezing my face. Painfully cold. But… strangely soothing.

I took a breath, but it hurt. It hurt way too much.

I can't move. Why can't I move?

So many hands. Touching me… my face, my arms, my torso, my legs.

My legs hurt like a bitch on fire.

But I can't move. I want to move, but my body wasn't responding.

I'm paralyzed.

I breathed, a little faster. I feel strange… scared… untrusting. Who are these fuckers and what are they doing to me?

A loud beeping. Heart rate too fast, one of the voices said. A woman.

Cold crept up my back. And strangely, nothing.

Damn, these fuckers knocked me out again…


	6. Chapter 6

"How is she doing, Andreia?"

Andreia removed her gloves and sighed, working the kinks out of her neck, as she gazed back at the body of Commander Shepard. "She's alive, but barely. Her leg bones are too broken to repair yet. I need someone better at mending bones. She lost a huge amount of blood, but I was able to replace them to some degree. Her other injuries, particularly that perforation on her abdomen… I was able to fix. But that burn on her face… it's going to take time to heal."

Antonio leaned on the wall, as Andreia collapsed to the chair beside him, putting her head in her hands. "I can't believe it… Commander Shepard… fell to Earth from the Citadel?"

"And survived." Andreia said, "If it weren't for that mask, her head would've exploded from the impact."

Antonio nodded, "What about her legs? We can't repair it?"

She shook her head, "No, I can't. I need someone else to do it." She sighed, "I wish Dr. Chakwas or Mr. Michel was here. They'd have an idea how to fix it."

"Can't you contact them?"

"Probably not." Andreia said, "Dr. Chakwas is in the Normandy, from what I've been told, and Dr. Michel is probably too busy with the casualties of the war." She shook her head as she gazed at the Commander, "She'll end up being confined to the wheelchair if I don't find someone."

"Then contact Dr. Michel." Antonio said, "From what I've heard a few years ago, she has a special spot for Shepard. She saved her, after all." He shrugged, "No harm in trying, Andreia."

Andreia sighed, rubbing her temples, "Alright. I'll try."


	7. Chapter 7

"Yes… I'm looking for Dr. Michel."

Andreia looked down at her OmniTool as she contacted one of the Alliance cruisers, the SSV Manila, which was used to house several Citadel refugees during the Reaper War. She had tracked the doctor down by contacting one of the agents of the Shadow Broker.

"Please, wait a moment." A human on the other side said, "She is currently engaged with patients. May I ask who would like to speak with her?"

"My name is Andreia Sanchez." She said, "I was one of her students back in the day in the Citadel. I have… a very special patient that she might want to look at. Please tell her it's urgent… and a matter of life and death."

"Very well, please hold." The person said, and Andreia saw down her chair as she waited, a few minutes later, a woman spoke.

"Andreia!" Dr. Chloe Michel said, "It has been a long time. I was surprised to see your call."

"Hello, Doctor." Andreia said, "I'm sorry to disturb you. I know you're busy tending to your patients, especially after the War."

"There are a lot of other doctors here with me, they can take care of it." Dr. Michel said, "Besides, you told me it was a matter of life and death. So it must be serious. What can I do to help you?"

"I have… a special patient here that needs your expertise, Doctor." Andreia said, "Both of her legs are broken, and I don't have the skills to mend them myself. I was able to treat the other injuries, but her legs… it's far beyond my capability to fix. I shall assist you if you decide to do it."

"Hmm… both legs you say?" Dr. Michel said, "That would require a lot of surgery… and if this patient survives that, perhaps several years of rehabilitation. With today's medical technology, of course I can do it." She was silent for a minute before speaking again, "Very well. I'll do my best to get there. With the Relays broken, it might take me a week or two…"

"I wish you could come here faster than that, Doctor." Andreia said, "The patient… is a very high profile individual, and as her friend, I am hoping you'll come faster."

"Who is this patient you're talking about that needs me so much that you could not wait, Andreia?"

Andreia sighed, "It's Commander Jane Shepard, Doctor."


	8. Chapter 8

Ow.

Why does it still hurt?!

I want to scream. But… I can't?

There's a tube down my throat!

And I still can't move?

Fuck.

This is worst to waking up from that Cerberus lab in the middle of my construction.

There's some sort of heat, coming up the left side of my face.

Oh right… I got burned there.

Garrus… now I know what you felt like. It burns like hell. It stings like fury. Considering that yours was worse because you took a whole damn rocket to the side of your face.

Garrus…

I miss you so much. I wish I could move. I wish I could speak. Or at least move my hand. I want to find you. I want to tell you I'm here. I want you to see I survived.

Another cold feeling coming up my back. Another anesthetic.

If I wake up and get addicted to this stuff, I am going to kill these idiots.


	9. Chapter 9

The doors opened, and Andreia and Antonio stood as a woman in a Medic uniform and brown hair came forward, with a woman with black hair and a very form-fitting body suit behind her. Dr. Chloe Michel came and shook hands with Andreia, "It was a good thing you have called me, Andreia. I came as fast as I could. I pulled a lot of Alliance strings to get here faster. How is she?"

"She's stable." Andreia said as she handed the doctor Shepard's medical files, "I was able to perform surgery to some of her injuries… the perforations in her abdomen, a few gunshot wounds, the bruises, and cuts. I was able to sanitize her burns as well before the tropical climate could make it worst. The only thing left to fix is her legs."

"And her spirit… if she lives through this." Dr. Michel said, but she lowered the chart and pointed to her friend, "This is Miranda Lawson… she used to be with Cerberus, and she was in charge with the reconstruction of Commander Shepard a few months ago. She knows Shepard's body, and could help with her."

Andreia shook the woman's hand, and Antonio came forward, "This Antonio Quiroga, he's my friend and assistant. He helped me carry Shepard here from the rainforest."

Dr. Michel and Miranda shook hands with the two humans, and Andreia raised her hand as she led the doctor to a sanitized area of her clinic, where Commander Shepard's bed was.

The doctor came forward and pulled the sheet that covered the officer, and Andreia watched as tears seem to swell in her eyes. Commander Shepard's hair was singed, so that it was long in one side, and short on the other. Bandages covered the left side of her face, with massive bruises around her right cheek and eyes. Several other bandages were applied to her arms and abdomen, but the largest one was on the lower left side of her waist. Her legs, as Dr. Michel surmised, was crushed by excessive force, probably from the wreckage. Her right leg had her femur bone sticking out from under her skin, and her ankle was swollen. Her left leg was worse, and as she looked at the scans Andreia had given her, Shepard had broken her femur, her fibula and her ankles to pieces.

Dr. Michel swallowed and continued to inspect her medically, "You have done great work with her other injuries. But now we must tend to her legs." She raised her OmniTool and scanned them both, as she shook her head. "The injuries are far worse than I expected. There are too many bone fragments around her muscles… we'll have to pick them out first before we could restore them. What do you think, Miranda?"

The woman wiped her eyes quickly, and Andreia could tell she cared for Shepard very much. She raised his Omni-Tool as well, "The injuries to the right leg can be repaired easily, but the left leg would need intensive surgery." She nodded to Dr. Michel, "I am ready to operate when you are, Doctor."

Dr. Michel nodded and looked at Andreia, "We shall start immediately. I need everyone in this. Get prepped."

Antonio and Andreia nodded and headed out to get their surgical gear, as Dr. Michel and Miranda brought out their instruments. When the two humans came back, both the doctor and the Cerberus agent were already set, and she looked down at their instruments, which held several scalpels… and one wicked looking saw. Andreia swallowed in fear at it, and Dr. Michel saw her look.

"I am hoping I would not need to use that on her." Dr. Michel said, "I know Shepard… to lose a leg for her would mean death."

Andreia took a deep breath, "Then let us do what we can for her."

Dr. Michel nodded and stood to the right of Commander Shepard, and Miranda stood beside her. Antonio and Andreia stood at the other side. Dr. Michel put her hands together for a quick prayer, before sighing and holding out her hand to Miranda, "Scalpel…"


	10. Chapter 10

_Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall… Humpty Dumpty had a great fall… all the king's horses and all the king's men…couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again…_

Why am I remembering this?

It's been ages since I recited this… way back when I was a child. I didn't like it. I was more of a "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" girl, mainly because I really wondered what they are.

I loved the idea of traveling to space since I was a little girl. I wanted to discover the vastness of space. To study them and explore them to my last breath.

And to think I found the love of my life out there in the galaxy. I guess there is someone out there for everyone… even myself.

What would've happened if I hadn't discovered Garrus? I keep thinking back to that time in the Citadel… when we first met. He reminded me of myself, when I first started. So eager to catch the bad guys. So determined to set things right. But soon enough, you realize that there are just some things that you can't do to satisfy your desire for righteousness. There are many things to think of. Your safety. The safety of your crew. The safety of the people around you.

Garrus has changed… a lot. Maybe because of my influence. Or maybe because of his time in Omega, I don't know. But I knew I felt different around him when I saw him in Omega. When he removed his mask, and I found out it was him, it took all the guts I had not to run to him and huge him until his plates cracked. And when he got shot by that rocket, I saw red. I wanted to kill all the fuckers that did that to him… and I grew afraid that I had lost him.

The day I saw him alive through the doors with that cybernetic bandage on his face was biggest sigh of relief I ever had.

No… I don't want to think about what would've happened if I didn't meet Garrus. I met him, and he met me, and we fought together, got shot together, and laughed together. We even learned to love together.

And that meant so much more to me that anything else…

Don't worry, G… I'm going to come back to you. I swear it.


	11. Chapter 11

Andreia sighed as she straightened from her seat, turning her head to work the kinks in her neck. It took several hours to put Shepard's legs together again. It took several screws and rods, and some cybernetics to piece her legs together. They even had to re-break some of the bones on her left leg to get some of the splinter of bones out. She was thankful that modern medicine had improved during the past few decades. If Shepard had lived in the past, she would undoubtedly been killed by the impact… or by the lack of medical knowledge.

She took Shepard's hand, looking down at her trigger finger, seeing it slightly calloused. She sighed again, and ran her finger from her wrist to the tip of her middle finger. Dr. Chakwas said it was to stimulate brain activity. With Shepard being on so much anesthetics, she's going to have a hard time waking up. She suggested that Andreia run a finger to her palm and talk to her.

"This feels stupid." Andreia said to the unconscious Shepard, "But if it helps you to wake up, then I'd do it. The famous Commander Shepard… honored war hero… survives the crash of the Citadel." She chuckled, "The press is going to have a field day."

She looked up at Shepard's face to see that she was still not moving despite her steady breathing. "But I wonder… would you still want the life you have, Shepard? All the battles… all the deaths… would you still come back to that?" She shook her head, "I don't think I can."

"You… saved so many people. But you lost a lot of people too, didn't you? The Alliance said that the Reaper Wars are over. That you have destroyed them. But… how many lives did you lose before you were able to defeat them, I wonder?"

She sighed, "It must be hard… to do all the things you had to do. To fight the way you do. I don't think I have the courage to pull the trigger. Which is probably why I'm a Medic instead… it's so much easier to just heal people. Much more gratifying, too. But I guess helping people like you do has some perks as well."

She squeezed Shepard's hand a little, "Shepard, please wake up already. There are people waiting for you. The reports said that all your crew from the Normandy survived the War. Kaidan Alenko, James Vega… Garrus Vakarian… and the others that I've forgotten. I was never good with names. I remember the ones I hear most often." She winced, "But anyway… they are waiting for you, so please. You have to wake up."

Andreia watched as the Commander remained as asleep, breathing lightly through the oxygen tube that was put on her nose. She was lucky that her lungs were still functioning fine despite the bruises, and that the only tube in her mouth was her feeding tube. She sighed again as Shepard didn't seem to exhibit any change. She looked up at the clock, seeing it was almost lunch, and she looked down at her.

"I'm going to eat lunch for a while. Try not to panic while I'm gone." She said as she pushed off her chair to stand.

But as she was about to pull away, she realized that something was holding her back. She blinked, and looked down her hand to see that Shepard was holding to her, lightly at first, but soon her fingers tightened. She looked up at the Commander's face, seeing that she was still asleep… but soon her eyebrows furrowed. Her pale lips opened and her breath came out in a whisper.

"Garrus…"


End file.
